An optical scanner is a device that is used to obtain an electronic representation of a document, for example, a printed page of text, a graphic or photograph. This electronic representation of the hardcopy document can then be stored or transmitted electronically for a wide variety of purposes.
The scanner typically exposes the hardcopy original to a bright light. A photosensitive element records the light reflected from the hardcopy original one line at a time and outputs an electronic signal representative of the image on the hardcopy original. This signal can be recorded in an electronic file, such as on a personal computer, to create an electronic version of the hardcopy original. Alternatively, the scanner may be incorporated into a fax machine and the signal may be transmitted via a phone line to convey the electronic version of the hardcopy original to a recipient fax machine where a new hardcopy is printed. With some scanners, an application known as optical character recognition (OCR) may be able to turn scanned text into editable text for a word processing application.
Often, a user may desire to add a message or annotations to a scanned image before the scanned image is transmitted, printed or saved. Some users have chosen to hand write messages, notes or annotations directly on the hardcopy original before the original is scanned. Consequently, when the original is then scanned, the additions made by the user are included as part of the electronic file representing the hardcopy original that is created by the scanner. Thus, when the file is transmitted or printed, the handwritten annotations will be included.
Unfortunately, this approach requires that the user mark up the original document with the handwritten annotations. In many instances, the user may prefer to keep the original document clean of any such markings.
As an alternative, the user can make a copy of the original and then markup and scan the copy as desired. However, this requires the extra step and resources of making a hardcopy duplicate of the original document.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.